— Oscar? you want some of this juice? He sat licking his lips, stirred to filling his wineglass from the bottle tucked beside him.
— I really think we've had enough, don't you?
— No! he gasped getting breath, raising his glass unsteadily — there's still Antietam, the battle at Antietam.
— I think I'm going up, I'm exhausted. Harry?
— Really earned her three million there didn't she.
A recreation vehicle careening through mud, a man with lower back pain, that decrepit couple on a bed warping and heaving at the touch of a button, and the sharp notes of a bugle cutting through the suddenly surging rumble of cannon fire in the half dark brought him bolt upright like a trooper, — now! splashing the drink on his knee — look! That's Hooker, on horseback that's Joe Hooker on the ridge up here with his I Corps looking south toward the, can you see it? that little white spot, the Dunker church you can't really see it yet it's only five thirty in the morning almost a mile away where those flashes of fire from Jackson's artillery are coming from now Stuart's joining in, Jeb Stuart's horse artillery on a hill down by the Hagerstown road shelling us up here on the ridge and down there, that big farmhouse right here that's Miller's farmhouse where the what are you doing!
— Turning it down Oscar, it's getting louder and…
— Of course it's getting louder! The Union artillery's opening up for Hooker's attack, he's sending Rickett's division on his left through the East Woods and Doubleday's down the Hagerstown road with Meade in between now you can see them, his skirmish lines coming down the slope toward the cornfield and Miller's farm it's light enough now to look! in the cornfield look! Bayonets glittering through the leaves where the Rebels are waiting to, it's starting! It's starting! Torn to pieces look at them, the skirmish lines blown to pieces from the cornfield and Miller's farm so much smoke you can hardly see where the, where's the, here they are yes here they are! Six gun batteries look at the horses, six horse teams pulling them in at a gallop and the bugle calls they know what they mean, these old war horses they know what they mean look at that, thirty six guns lined up blasting the cornfield with canister now that boom! boom! in the distance, McClellan's long range guns up back of the Antietam oh it's glorious, crossfire tearing the cornfield to pieces Rebels going down whole ranks of them blown to bits now we're coming in, Meade's down the center of the line and Rickett's infantry from the East Wood smoke so thick you can hardly look! Did you see him? didn't you see him? the substitute from the mines there just for a second? he'd be in one of Meade's Pennsylvania regiments wouldn't he? God, it's glorious! he gasped, coming forward breathing heavily, gripping the edge of the sofa as the carnage grew even louder — what? I can't hear you!
— Because you're tipping over the, be careful! she came down beside him catching the falling bottle, — if you'd just stop bouncing up and down you'd…
— Give it to me give it to me! He filled his glass, drank it off and filled it again to the shouts and fire from the cornfield — there! a man's shoulder blown off — look out! too late, the boy in butternut hit full in the open mouth, mere boys, mere boys in homespun and blue in a screaming frenzy of bayonets and shellfire — unbelievable, it's unbelievable look at that! Half the regiment wiped out at thirty feet we're taking the cornfield there's Meade, there's Meade in the midst of it there's Meade look at the flags, battle flags the Sixth Wisconsin, Pennsylvania regiments and three hundred of the Twelfth Massachusetts with two hundred casualties now! We're almost there, the Dunker church Georgia boys trying to get over the fence pffft! shot like laundry hung on a line listen! The Rebel yell listen to it, Hood's division counterattack makes your blood run cold they're coming through! Driving us back they're driving us back, A P Hill coming in from the East Wood I mean D H, D H Hill's division right into the, ooph! Battery B, six old brass cannon it's Battery B charging straight into it look at that! Double rounds of canister hitting them at fifty feet the whole Rebel column's blown to pieces blood everyplace, blood everyplace that's Mansfield, wild white beard's got to be General Mansfield Hooker sending him in with his XII Corps riding down the line waving his hat hear them cheering he's, yes he's hit, horse is down and Mansfield's hit in the stomach God, get him off the field!
— Ouch!
— What's the…
— You hit me Oscar, can't you sit…
— Didn't mean to look out! Hooker, his foot smashed he's riding to the rear, brought in nine thousand men he's lost twenty five hundred killed and wounded and half Lee's forces are casualties where's the, where are we where's my glass.
— It's empty, why don't you just try to…
— Fill it up then! Signal flags wagging where are we, the creek down there's the Antietam down below yes we're up here with McClellan running the whole show there he is, with the telescope there he is, Hooker's I Corps shattered his whole right wing's collapsed where's Sumner, sending in Sumner's II Corps to turn Lee's flank watch the mess he makes of it, eighteen thousand men he's got three divisions, one can't get started one gets lost and Sedgwick's division's hit on three sides, Rebel brigades out of nowhere cutting down half the Thirty Fourth New York, two thirds of the Fifty Ninth wiped out could have ended right there if he'd broken Lee's flank but only a third of his forces get in there and leave two thousand dead and wounded in the West Wood while the Twentieth Massachusetts marches out with the look, look that's Holmes! wounded again yes the same man isn't it? the one they left on the beach at Ball's Bluff? You can hardly see the, it's terrible, watching it all on this tiny screen we should have one as big as this room seeing it in a theatre look at it, we're supposed to be looking out over forty acres, twelve thousand dead and wounded in barely four hours it's not even ten o'clock in the morning.
— Anyway I'm just real glad it's over Oscar, you're getting all sweaty and…
— But it's not! It should be but it's not, if they'd broken Lee's flank there the whole war would be over but the worst is now, right now you've seen it look at them! Parading down the slope bayonets flashing in the sun straight for D H Hill's regiments hidden in the sunken road I thought you'd seen it, the Bloody Lane you said you'd seen it!
— That's where I closed my eyes.
— All right go ahead, go ahead I'll tell you what's happening any minute, any minute there! a crash of fire filled the sunken road end to end — the whole Union first rank blown to pieces God, look at them! He had hold of a cushion pounding it, pounding it — McClellan's long range guns smashing the Rebel artillery look, the gunner's legs blown to aphh! the horses, shells tearing the artillery horses to pieces God it's awful, smoke down here in the sunken road you can't even see what they, they've stopped them! We've stopped their advance, the whole no, don't look, don't look piles of arms and legs men laid out on the straw they've made this barn a hospital surgeons covered with blood and arms and legs stacked up like my glass, where's my glass! gurgling, coughing, he filled it again crushing the cushion in his lap — finally! Sumner's Third Division finally getting here to relieve French God it goes on, it goes on, D H Hill breaking through the gap there it goes, there it goes the whole Confederate line collapsing why can't he send in his reserves and end the whole thing! McClellan's got ten thousand men up there send them in! send them in! he pounded the cushion — he won't, Lee's lines completely shredded McClellan could break right through but he still thinks he's outnumbered, seventy thousand men to Lee's forty thousand it's hardly noon he could end the war right here, Porter's whole V Corps sitting up on a hill playing cards all day and they won't send them in! he sank back getting breath, wiping a hand across his brow — all down hill from now on, all down hill, here comes Burnside two or three places he could ford the creek but he wants that little bridge the idiot. You idiot! he cried out suddenly and sank back again muttering imprecations as two regiments rushed the bridge under heavy fire, eyes glazing over as the bridge was engulfed in a tumult of men and horses, carts and wagons trying to cross it at once, heavy firing on the road toward Sharpsburg — he could still do it, twelve thousand men what's the matter with him! one unsteady hand holding the empty glass, the other searching the cushions as his breathing subsided, shoulders fallen in defeat.